The Love Triangle: Your take? (Spoilers about Eclipse)

[chyuu]

SPOILERS

Alright, so, I loved the book. Loved it - especially the information on Jasper's backround, and the fact that the werewolves and vampires fought together. Unfortunately, I was really disappointed in Bella, towards the end, and in Jacob.

Firstly, in Bella: Dude. You've got Edward. He loves you, you love him, I see no problem here. Suddenly, though, you're bouncing back and forth in between him and Jacob. In my opinion, if you love them both, then you're not being fair to either of them because you're splitting yourself in two and not giving your full attention to either. neutral

Jacob. Oh, Jacob. At first, you say, I haven't Imprinted on anyone, I haven't found that person, etc etc. Yet, you're obviously in love with Bella, and try to get her to be with you for the entire book. If you did find your Imprinted, however, you'd drop Bella like a stone, and that's just not fair to Bella. You're preaching hypocrisy here, saying, Stay-with-me-I-love-you-we're-perfect-for-each-other-I-would-never-hurt-you-like-he-did, when if your Imprinted did show up, you would hurt her. And then, blackmailing that kiss? That's just... Not even cool; it's a horrible thing to do to someone, especially if you claim to love them.

Not to say of course, that Edward was perfect: putting Bella on patrole seemed a little extreme, and I, like Bella, hated the fact that he was so noble that he would have let Bella go if it meant that she would be happy. He has a problem with hiding things from her, as well.

Um, anyway. I finished Eclipse a few hours ago, and it seems like no one else on the entire planet can say the same. Hopefully someone on Gaia has finished, because I have no one to ramble with. XD

What are your thoughts on the love triangle? Should Bella have gone with Jacob, or stayed with Edward?  

[[The_Amazing_Chocolatier]]

Heh. ^.^
M'kay. Opinions...

I hate Jacob. I hate Jacob even more than I did in New Moon. Yeah, that's harsh, but it's true. :]
I don't know. The whole idea of him makes me cringe.

And yes. I was a bit disappointed in Bella. You would think it would be easy for her to make up her mind. I guess not?

To answer your question, she should always and forever stay with Edward. :3

EDIT: Wow. There is so much more I could say on the subject. D; Im just to lazy to type it all out.

Ehhh.

 

[[The_Amazing_Chocolatier]]

rofl @ Billy in the poll.
xD

 

[chyuu]

Oh, yay, someone else has finished! *clings*

[The_Amazing_Chocolatier]

Heh. ^.^
M'kay. Opinions...

I hate Jacob. I hate Jacob even more than I did in New Moon. Yeah, that's harsh, but it's true. :]
I don't know. The whole idea of him makes me cringe.

Oh, thank God. Another Jacob-hater. =) Bah, I don't think it's harsh. I really, really didn't like him in this book. Or New Moon, either, really, but in Eclipse he just went over-board. Gah. I want to slap him.

[The_Amazing_Chocolatier]

]And yes. I was a bit disappointed in Bella. You would think it would be easy for her to make up her mind. I guess not?

To answer your question, she should always and forever stay with Edward. :3

EDIT: Wow. There is so much more I could say on the subject. D; Im just to lazy to type it all out.

Ehhh.

Ahaha. Well, I don't think it would be a hard choice. Sexy vampire on one hand... and then Jacob. Hmm. It's a toss up. XD

♥♥ = Edward and Bella. (:  

[choirperson]

I finished about a half an hour ago, cause I didn't get it until noon. (squee. ohmygodohmygodohmygodIlovedit!!! But I am sad it took so long to finish- five hours!!! not my best time.) I think she was making things way more complicated than they had to be. She knows who she loves, and who she's meant to be with. I don't see why she's messing with that. And the self-sacrificing!!!! Why oh why can't she just quit trying to get herself killed?!?! I do love how the wolves and vampires get along better, though.  

[chyuu]

choirperson

I finished about a half an hour ago, cause I didn't get it until noon. (squee. ohmygodohmygodohmygodIlovedit!!! But I am sad it took so long to finish- five hours!!! not my best time.) I think she was making things way more complicated than they had to be. She knows who she loves, and who she's meant to be with. I don't see why she's messing with that. And the self-sacrificing!!!! Why oh why can't she just quit trying to get herself killed?!?! I do love how the wolves and vampires get along better, though.

It took me a few hours, too, but I got it at nine-thirty-ish so I've been done since early this afternoon. (:

I know, I really liked how the vampires and werewolves got along, at the end. That was probably one of my favorite parts.

She's messing with it because... Um. I'm not actually sure. : Insanity? Hee.

Bella! I totally agree! She is self-sacrificing, to the point where someone needs to keep her chained to a wall or something, ahaha. I'm rather suprised Edward hasn't, at this point. (;  

[EviChi4]

I understand why Bella is so upset but I mean COME ON! Jacob is her friend/her brother even! I agree with Choirperson, Bella DID make her relationships WAY too complicated, I fully respect her trying to hang on to her "sun", but she had to learn to let go of him a little. I know part of her didnt want to part with Jake, but its just like she said earlier in da book she Loves him but shes not IN love with him (and as much as I LUV Jake) I think he was a lil too pushy trying to get her to be with him.That made things much more difficult.
I think that untimately her greatest decision wasnt between Edward and Jake but really how to part from her friend while trying not to hurt anyone,you know, kinda learn to stand on her own w/out him, but she just didnt realize its one of those decisions that u can't stop someone from hurting, no matter how hard you try.....and that if you really luv that person you'll learn to let them go, to live on w/out depending on that support every time something bad happens.......... sweatdrop or something along those lines........ sweatdrop  

[chyuu]

Evil_child1301

I understand why Bella is so upset but I mean COME ON! Jacob is her friend/her brother even! I agree with Choirperson, Bella DID make her relationships WAY too complicated, I fully respect her trying to hang on to her "sun", but she had to learn to let go of him a little. I know part of her didnt want to part with Jake, but its just like she said earlier in da book she Loves him but shes not IN love with him (and as much as I LUV Jake) I think he was a lil too pushy trying to get her to be with him.That made things much more difficult.
I think that untimately her greatest decision wasnt between Edward and Jake but really how to part from her friend while trying not to hurt anyone,you know, kinda learn to stand on her own w/out him, but she just didnt realize its one of those decisions that u can't stop someone from hurting, no matter how hard you try.....and that if you really luv that person you'll learn to let them go, to live on w/out depending on that support every time something bad happens.......... sweatdrop or something along those lines........ sweatdrop

Yeah, you've got a good point. (: She was so busy trying to make everyone else happy and make sure no one else got hurt that she didn't realize fully that in the end, someone was going to. She also knew she was hurting Jacob by staying around him but was too selfish to give it up. She wanted the best of both worlds, which I think makes her a bit hypocritical. You're right about the, If you care about someone you'll let them go, I think. 3nodding

I also think I'm over-analyzing it, probably. I'm just happy there are other people who have finished; my friend's only on chapter eleven and I'm desperately trying not to give away any spoilers. *tapes mouth* XD  

[October Breeze]

Okay. I finished it awhile ago.

Bella:

I honestly cannot believe she would kiss Jacob like that. I thought - was under the impression that her love for Edward was so strong she would never... cheat, which is all I would call that, even if it is Jake. She bothered me in this book. I honestly thought I had to be dreaming when it said something along the lines of "I realized it now that I really was in love with Jake." Uuugh. And the way she kept hurting Edward... I couldn't believe it. I just was so stunned that she was in love with both of them, in fact, it still seems ridiculous to me considering the way Stephenie Meyer always painted their relationship.

Jacob:

I really, really loved him in New Moon, but he seemed so different in Eclipse. I can't imagine him ever blackmailing Bella like that in NM, or forcing a kiss on her. At all. His personality was just... man. I used to be a Jake supporter, but I think this book turned me against him, just a little. I can understand why he did it, and why his personality is different, but it just seemed so low.

Edward:

I know he loves Bella and all, but it almost bothered me that he didn't care that she kissed Jacob. And near the end his personality just seemed a little different, too. Although I will forever remember the, "I love you. I want you. Right now." XD Best line ever.  

[Cute_honor_student666]

I finished it too! My fave out of all of them.

Bella: During the kiss, I was practically shouting, "Bella! NO!" but my dad was home, otherwise I would have worried the neighbors. And I hated Jacob. But I'll get to that. As much as I hated it, I well, got it. It makes sense. Although I can't say I was sad when Bella chose Edward. I was more like, "OMGZYESSS!". And I love how Bella agreed to the wedding. WEDDIIIIIING!!!!!

Jacob:How dare he! I mean I get that he loves her and all, but...no! Just no. Shame on him. I wanted to scream at him,"You first are WAY to persistent, then you practically sexually assault her. Then, you have the nerve to continue to be persistent!" And the way he acted in the tent bothered me. That was so below the belt, especially for Edward. Although I do feel bad for him.

But I do wonder. What conflict will there be in Breaking Dawn? There's obviously going to be one. But Victoria's gone, Bella's made peace with Jake, Bella will get bitten and so on. The only problems will be that Jake still wants Bella,and Bella will have to let go of her family. And even though Edward's breaking the treaty, Jacob said he wouldn't let his pack hurt her, thus ruling out hurting Edward.

Oh...and Bella and Edward are gonna DO IT!
Sorry...I had to yell that to someone, but like I said, my dad's in the house and that would be awkward.  

[Luna Loves Good]

Text wall ahead!
Read and I'll love you forever!!!! Respond and I'll worship you always! <333




Before I get my opinion on Jacob and Edward out, let me just bring some things to your attention.

BOTH Jacob and Edward did underhanded things to get Bella to evaluate her stance on their lovetrianglemess. Jacob blackmailed her into kissing him, Edward talked about his proposal to Bella when he knew it would be horrifically heartbreaking and appallingly inconvenient, and then they fought ruthlessly around Bella even when knowing how much distress it put her in. So, in essence they were both stupid, childish, and obsessed with their jealousy. (Remember the all important tent scene?!?!?!).
Now, I'm not letting Bella off the hook, either. I mean, c'mon, she used underhanded tactics to get Edward to stay with her during the battle and snuck off all of those times to see Jacob even though she knew what it would do to Edward.

So, in reality, they're all at fault. Some more than others, but really there is no way to make one out to be less guilty than the rest.


So, now we find ourselves at the essence of this argument.
Which one should Bella have chosen? Edward or Jacob?

The answer to me is glaringly obvious.
Jacob, of course.

Put down the pitchforks and let me explain.

Jacob was everything Bella could have ever hoped for, had her live been normal. To find a real Jacob in this lifetime is a blessing I can only hope to attain one day. Jacob was real, grounded in Bella's world in ways Edward could never be. Jacob would age and he could marry her in the broad daylight without his skin shimmering like diamonds. The wolves called themselves the "Protectors" and that rang true throughout the novel. Constantly, Jacob protected her without sheltering her. He kept her safe and informed, near the action but never in real danger. Edward, on the other hand, just seemed to be the motive behind all of the danger that surrounded her. Edward shielded information from her, censoring the truth until he deemed her worthy of handling it. Jacob could give her a family--a real family with real kids, the family Rosalie would never have. When isolated from Edward, none of that sounds like a bad thing.

But, Edward was another thing entirely.
Bella loved Edward in a completely mentally unstable, frighteningly violent way. Love isn't strong enough to describe the pull she feels towards him. They are, unquestionably and irrevocably, attached, welded together for eternity. Because she loves him, and that is enough. All of the wonderful things her life could have held for her mean nothing in comparison to the glory that is Edward. His brilliance blocks out any other options, and suddenly he is all that is left in Bella's world.

Stephenie Meyer said herself that in the real world, Edwards do not exist. But Jacobs, they do. That alone in my mind makes Jacob the best choice.

So, she should have chosen Jacob, if she was going to be smart about it.

But if this series illustrates nothing else, it illustrates how irrational such a powerful love can be, so thats why it is simply and wholely right that she chose Edward. Which one of us wouldn't, if such a perfect and unbelievable love professed itself to us?

I'm not happy about it, because I loved Jacob, but I know it is right.



::::Edit::::
My favorite quote ever. I just thought you should read it and think about what it implies.

"I knew that he was right, if the world was the sane place it was supposed to be, Jacob and I would have been together. And we would have been happy. He was my soul mate in that world-would have been my soul mate still if his claim had not been overshadowed by something stronger, something so strong that it could not exist in the rational world." pg. 599

 

[October Breeze]

I totally agree Nazomi! Even though I got ticked at the three main characters quite often. I was sad because Eclipse was a turning pont in how I viewed almost veryone, except maybe Bella.

But I thought that it was very interesting, with whole thing with her and Jacob. Because if Edward was never around or didn't exist, she would meet Jacob one day, regardless, through Billy. And of course, she would like him just as much, if not more since she didn't have Edward around. And there would be no danger of the Imprinting.

When Rosalie was talking about what Bella wouldn't have, and when Bella was having a vision of what her life could be if she chose Jacob, I felt truly sad. I think it's kind of unfair. Jacob is a more logical decision. There would be no blood lust, no hurting of her real family, no killing, and a promise of sleep by death, even if that eternity would be with Edward otherwise. But then, love isn't logical, so...

I'm quite torn. I really did like Jake better in NM, but somehow in Eclipse Edward seemed so much more human to me.  

[chyuu]

nazomi_himura

Put down the pitchforks and let me explain.

*sets pitchfork down*

nazomi_himura

Jacob was everything Bella could have ever hoped for, had her live been normal. To find a real Jacob in this lifetime is a blessing I can only hope to attain one day. Jacob was real, grounded in Bella's world in ways Edward could never be. Jacob would age and he could marry her in the broad daylight without his skin shimmering like diamonds. The wolves called themselves the "Protectors" and that rang true throughout the novel. Constantly, Jacob protected her without sheltering her. He kept her safe and informed, near the action but never in real danger. Edward, on the other hand, just seemed to be the motive behind all of the danger that surrounded her. Edward shielded information from her, censoring the truth until he deemed her worthy of handling it. Jacob could give her a family--a real family with real kids, the family Rosalie would never have. When isolated from Edward, none of that sounds like a bad thing.

But, Edward was another thing entirely.
Bella loved Edward in a completely mentally unstable, frighteningly violent way. Love isn't strong enough to describe the pull she feels towards him. They are, unquestionably and irrevocably, attached, welded together for eternity. Because she loves him, and that is enough. All of the wonderful things her life could have held for her mean nothing in comparison to the glory that is Edward. His brilliance blocks out any other options, and suddenly he is all that is left in Bella's world.

Stephenie Meyer said herself that in the real world, Edwards do not exist. But Jacobs, they do. That alone in my mind makes Jacob the best choice.

So, she should have chosen Jacob, if she was going to be smart about it.

But if this series illustrates nothing else, it illustrates how irrational such a powerful love can be, so thats why it is simply and wholely right that she chose Edward. Which one of us wouldn't, if such a perfect and unbelievable love professed itself to us?

I'm not happy about it, because I loved Jacob, but I know it is right.

I totally understand the point you're bringing up here, about how, in the real world, Bella and Jacob would have been great together, and I agree with you. But, they're not in the real world. I agree with you completely on your last line/paragraph, as well (Who wouldn't choose something like that?), except that I do think she made the right choice with Edward.

(More text walls, hurrah! )

All throughout Twilight and New Moon - and I agree with your point about Edward and Bella, too, there's something there that's so obsessive that sometimes I wonder about it - Bella wanted Edward, she loved him, with everything she had. She didn't care about the consequences, she didn't care about putting herself in danger, she didn't care about anything except getting and keeping Edward.

Then, all of a sudden, in Eclipse, she suddenly realizes that she's in love with Jacob. In New Moon, the only reason she would have ever gone with him was when she was absolutely certain that Edward wasn't coming back. It seems a little sudden that now that she has Edward, she realizes, Poof! You know, I've got long lost feelings for Jacob. You always want what you can't have seems to come into play a little bit. Earlier on in Eclipse, and numerous times in New Moon, she described him as a brother figure. Now, the way I love my brother and the way I love my boyfriend are two totally different things, and I thought it was kind of irritating that her love would change so completely. There was one quote in Eclipse, though, that I really liked, where it talked about who Bella was with Edward and who Bella was with Jacob were two completely different people that couldn't co-exist. I think she made the right choice in picking Edward because there were no false pretenses on her part: When she met him, she was herself. She was Bella. When she met Jacob, she didn't care about him or even like him; she pretended to be someone else and flirt with him to get answers about Edward. At least with Edward she was true to herself from the beginning. When she was with Jacob I kind of felt like she had to change herself to be around him. I think that, in Eclipse, Bella was put under an enormous amount of pressure with everything that was happening in her life and she didn't really know what - or whom - she wanted.

Which leads to: She doesn't really know who she wants, and she's just agreed to marry Edward, for heaven's sake. She's leading one of them on; it wasn't fair to Edward to agree to marry him and then go mess around with Jacob, and it wasn't fair to Jacob, either (admittably, though, she told him off plenty of times - one of my favorite parts in that entire book was when she slapped him). You're totally right about them all being underhanded. Edward, Jacob, and Bella were all equally sneaky. I suppose all's fair in love and war, hmm? wink

I guess the way I always perceived the books was that Bella loved Edward, desperately, and it was reciprocated. I didn't think anything would tear them apart, and I feel a bit mislead. I was disappointed in the way Bella acted.

And, um, somehow, this topic turned from Why-Edward-and-Bella-Together-Equals-Happiness to Why-Bella-Disappointed-Me. XD In the end, though, I'm still an Edward/Bella fan. It's sad and petty, but I liked the ending just because it showed Jacob running away with his tail in-between his legs.  

[chyuu]

Cute_honor_student666

But I do wonder. What conflict will there be in Breaking Dawn? There's obviously going to be one. But Victoria's gone, Bella's made peace with Jake, Bella will get bitten and so on. The only problems will be that Jake still wants Bella,and Bella will have to let go of her family. And even though Edward's breaking the treaty, Jacob said he wouldn't let his pack hurt her, thus ruling out hurting Edward.

That's a good point: I wonder what is going to happen in Breaking Dawn? Although, in the Epilogue, Jacob ran away and didn't plan on returning to human form, I thought, so the Cullens won't have a werewolf on their - er, side when they change Bella.

And then, of course, there's the whole, "changing Bella". Maybe it will be her first couple of months as a vampire? We'll discover her talent, or if the change is different if it's done willingly, and how she'll react if she goes mad with bloodlust. And, I suppose the Volturi could always make a guest reappearance. I can't wait to read it. (:

Cute_honor_student666

Oh...and Bella and Edward are gonna DO IT!
Sorry...I had to yell that to someone, but like I said, my dad's in the house and that would be awkward.

LOL, score! XD  

[chyuu]

October Breeze

Okay. I finished it awhile ago.

Bella:

I honestly cannot believe she would kiss Jacob like that. I thought - was under the impression that her love for Edward was so strong she would never... cheat, which is all I would call that, even if it is Jake. She bothered me in this book. I honestly thought I had to be dreaming when it said something along the lines of "I realized it now that I really was in love with Jake." Uuugh. And the way she kept hurting Edward... I couldn't believe it. I just was so stunned that she was in love with both of them, in fact, it still seems ridiculous to me considering the way Stephenie Meyer always painted their relationship.

Yessss! (: That's exactly how I feel, too. I always thought that the way she and Edward felt was -- I don't know, indestructable, and then all of a sudden Jacob is suddenly hot stuff. I was upset at how she kept hurting Edward, too: That scene where Edward bought a motorcycle just so he could ride with her and she was like, Dude, you can't, was horrible. (And after Edward had just called her sexy with that jacket on, too. XD ) I felt really badly for Edward afterward. sad When she kissed Jacob I wanted to slap her.

October Breeze

Jacob:

I really, really loved him in New Moon, but he seemed so different in Eclipse. I can't imagine him ever blackmailing Bella like that in NM, or forcing a kiss on her. At all. His personality was just... man. I used to be a Jake supporter, but I think this book turned me against him, just a little. I can understand why he did it, and why his personality is different, but it just seemed so low.

One of my favorite parts in that entire book was when she slapped him. I think he acted really out-of-hand.

October Breeze

Edward:

I know he loves Bella and all, but it almost bothered me that he didn't care that she kissed Jacob. And near the end his personality just seemed a little different, too. Although I will forever remember the, "I love you. I want you. Right now." XD Best line ever.

It did bother me when Edward didn't seem to care; I didn't quite understand his reasoning right then - it would bother me if someone I was in love with kissed someone else, no matter what the cirumstance, and especially if it was with someone I didn't like in the first place. I laughed out loud at that line, though. XD